Unit solderless wire connecter



May 19, 1936- R. A. BECKER, SRA. x-:TAL 2,041,108

UNIT SOLDERLESS WIRE CONNECTER Filed June 4, 1935 El.; "i- RobertLBeckelf. Sr.

.STephen'P- Becker.

/ Gt`torneg Patented May `19, 1936 PATENT OFFICE UNIT soLDEnLEss WIRE CONNECTER Robert A. Becker, sr., and stephen r. Becker, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

Appucauon :une 4,1935, semi No. 24,810 e claims. (o1. 17a-30s) This invention relates to a unit solderless connecter for securely holding one or more wires together or to-some other object, and the invention relates more particularly to a wire securing de- 6 vice in the form of a self-contained unit, of which two may be mounted together to form a splicing means for holding the abutting ends of adjacent wires together, or three units may be mounted togetherto provide a three wire or T- 10 connection, or the unit may be secured in an interchangeable manner to any suitable form of mounting, such as, straps, clamps, eyes, hooks or other means for securing the unit to switch panels, outlet boxes, and other electrical instal- 16 lations.

We are aware that connecters have been devised for splicingwires and which employ the idea of split or chuck-jaws mounted within a casing having tapered ends for forcing the jaws 20 into gripping contact with the wire, but in some of these devices, the casing is so constructed that the grip of the jaws upon the wire can not be released, `and should a wire break off adjacent to the'connecter, or the wire have to be 25 removed, the connecter has to be discarded and can not be used again. p

In other devices' for this purpose, while means are provided for releasing the jaws from the wire to remove the same, they are also nount- 30 ed within fa casing which can not be opened or removed after once `being formed over the mechanism for holding the wire, and so should any part of the internal mechanism become useless or out of place, the casing can not be-opened to 35 replace or adjust the same, and so like the other connecter it has to be discarded, with a loss of money.

We do not know of any wire connecter of the y 50 matic in its action, only requiring that the endk of the wire be inserted therein and which does not require the use of tools or to be soldered.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind in which the outer casing can be removed to gain access to the working piarts for removal, adjustment or interchange of s zes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind in which the internal or wire gripping parts may be interchanged to accommodate wire of diierent sizes without changing the size of the casing.

Anotherfobject of the invention is to provide a device of this kind in which two or more wires can be secured together in both a mechanical and electrical manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind in which a wire may be secured to a terminal-plate or other object by simply securing the proper connection to the unit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind in the form of a self-contained unit which may be made up in different combinations and attached to different objects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Wire holding device which is simple, contains few parts which are also interchangeable and renewable, and which is durable, emcient, cheap, easily installed and fool-proof.

With these and other objects in view, our invention consists in certain construction and combination of parts as will hereinafter be fully described and claimed and further illustrated in the accompanying drawing which forms a part 3;) hereof and in which like figures of reference refer to corresponding parts in al1 of the views, and it is understood'that slight changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of the unit connecter.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of two of the units connected end to'end to act as a wire splice, and shows one wire being held, and the 40 other wire removed.

Figure 3 shows the unit with an attaching strap or plate secured thereto.

Figure 4' shows three units mounted together to hold three wires.

Figure 5 is a detail view of one of the gripping Jaws.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of Figure 1, showing ,the method of mounting the jaws.

Figure 7 shows an end view of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing:

The device consists in units which are interchangeable with each other, may be combined together, or attached'to different objects and 55 means for mounting, and this unit is composed of a tubular casing or shell I0, which may be of any desired shape in cross-section, and which is formed with the bore I I having the inner tapered end I2 which is closed by a wall I5 provided with a wire opening I 3; the other end of the shell II) being provided with the internal threads I4.

The tapered end I2 forms a part of the mechanism for holding the Wire, and within this tapered end I2 are mounted 'in a slidable manner the gripping jaws I1 (see Figure 5) and which are formed with a tapered outer edge I8 adapted to slide upon'the taper I2, and a wire gripping edge formed with the teeth I9 similar to saw or ratchet teeth.

For holding these jaws I'I in place and for providing a means whereby they may be receded in unison to vrelease the wire, we have provided a follower 20 slidably mounted within the bore EI and formed with a head ZI secured upon a neck 22; and embracing this neck 22 and head 2| are the hooks 23 which are formed on the inner ends of the jaws II, so that the follower 20 being receded or-pul1ed back the jaws I1 will be carried with it and due to the tapers I2 and I8 the jaws will be released from the wire 24.

For retaining the jaws I1 in normally gripping relation with the wire 24, there is provided a coil spring 25 one end of which abuts the vfollower 20 which is formed with a cup 40 to receive the spring while the other end of the spring 25 abuts either the cupped end 40 of another unit when the same are mounted end to end as shown in Figure 2, or` 'it abuts the end of a plug 3i) as shown in Figure 3, or other mounting means.

For releasing the wire from the device, the wire is pushed inwardly to contact with the follower and carrying with it the jaws I'I, disengaging them from the taper I2 and when the groove 26 of the follower registers with the hole 2l -in the casing the pin 28 is inserted through the hole vto engage in the groove to 'prevent the follower being forced outwardly by the spring 25, and thus holding the jaws free from the wire 24, which maythen be removed with ease.

If desired the position of the groove 26 in the follower 20 and the hooks 23 on the jaws I1 may be reversed as shown in Figure Li, or other means may be employed for securing the follower 20 and the jaws II together in a floating manner.

Also in place of forming the follower 20 with the groove 26, a transverse pin 4I may be used which is secured in the follower 20 with its ends slidably mounted within the slots 2'I in the casing I0 in order that the ends of the pin 4I may be engaged by the fingers to hold the follower in its jaw releasing position.

Further, the end of the casing I0 may be formed with a tubular extension 42 to embrace and protect the insulation 43 on the wire 24, or some form of cap may be employed to cover and protect the insulation.

As shown in Figure 2, a wire splice connecter is formed by securing two of these units end to end, by a threaded bushing I5 which is threaded into the internal threaded ends I4 of the casings I ll, and in this case the spring 25 extends through this bushing I5 withk its ends located in the cupped ends of the followers 20.

For providing for the connection of three wires, we have provided a T-member 33 having the three threaded ends 35 to which are attached by the internal threads I4, three units I0, and in this case the spring 25 is short and abuts the ends 35 and the cup in the follower 20.

As shown in Figure 3,-an attachment means such as a strap 3| having a bolt hole 32 may be attached to the unit I0 by .a threaded end 30, and in such a combination a short spring 25 is employed.

In some cases it may be desired to use in place of the tubular bushing connection I5, an external threaded band 44 threaded upon the outer surface of the casing I0 and this is shown in Figure 3.

It will thus be seen that by making the device in the form of a self-contained unit that these units may be employed for securely holding one or more wires either together or to other objects, and that the mechanism may be renewed and interchanged to accommodate different sizes of wire.

In place of the connecting threaded bushing I5, there may be employed the threaded plug 45 as shown in Figure l.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A unit type solderless wire connecter comprising a casing formed with a tubular'bore open at' one end and a tapered bore communicating with the tubular bore, screw threads formed in the outer end of the tubular bore to receive a closing member, a series of jaws formed with tapered sides in contact with the tapered bore, and wire gripping faces adapted to contact with a wire, a follower slidably mounted within the tubular bore and formed with an annular groove, hooks formed on the ends of the jaws for engagement with said annular groove for attaching the jaws to the follower, a spring mounted within said tubular bore in contact with said follower and the closing member, and an opening formed in the side of said casing adjacent the annular groove in the follower.

2. In a unit type solderless connecter, a tubular casing formed with an open threaded end and a closed tapered en'd having a wire opening therein, said casing formed with a transverse opening in the side thereof, a series of jaw members each' formed with a tapered face and a Wire gripping face, said jaw members slidably mounted within said casing with their tapered faces in contact with the tapered bore of the casing, means for f retaining said jaw members in operative rela; tion with each other comprising a follower slidably mounted within said casing and flexibly connected to said jaw members and formed with an annular groove in registry lwith the opening in the side of the casing when the follower is moved to released position, and a resilient member mounted within said casing in pressing contact with the follower for urging the jaw members toward the tapered bore of the Acasing to provide a gripping action of the jaw members upon a wire.

ROBERT A. BECKER, SR. STEPHEN P. BECKER. 

